Iceland

Alright. So since leaving Belize I have been unforgivably slack in keeping up my blog.. but I promise there are a multitude of excuses!

We landed in Edinburgh in August, right in time for the beginning of the Fringe Festival where this city comes alive! It’s the largest Arts festival in the world and it absolutely transforms Scotland’s Capital; thousands of singers, dancers, comedians and street performers spend a month dazzling audiences and we eat and drink our way around the city that triples in size for the month of August. And so we bask in the frenzy of the Fringe.. in this beautiful country where I can scarcely understand people, gorgeous men wear kilts legitimately and Haggis is a thing (and its’s a GOOD thing!) These four weeks saw me completely and utterly lose my heart in Edinburgh.

While I spent my month working at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (Arriving in Scotland with less than 500 dollars is less than ideal) Britt took off to SPAIN for a week to laze in the sun and hike the beautiful island of Mallorca with old friends. Sigh. So while she was sunning herself like a lizard, I was comedically entertaining myself every night of the week. I have never laughed so hard in all my life. Or eaten so much pulled pork. Or drunk so much wine and cider… on a side note to future Sheridan, I advise against putting bottles of red wine on your Australian credit card at Scottish pubs. Currency conversion is a bitch. And so the month goes… eating, drinking, laughing, sunning, picnicing (How many wheels of cheese can you eat in a week? It’s not a joke… I actually don’t know..)

So with Britt and I landing like lost puppies in a new city, we did what any self respecting girl does… and we went on Tinder dates. Most notable was probably having a whole pint of cider spilled down my white shirt right before we saw a comedian. Well Played tinder date, well played. Same tinder date gets us both called out by the comedian who asks how we met and throws me under the bus with the Tinder thing. Talk about feeding me to the wolves…I was going to go for a completely undramatised and entirely plausible scenario involving a topless man running through the park and a wayward concussion-inducing frisbee. Or something to that effect, you know?

After an incredible magical month in our new home, Britt and I packed our bags and headed to London to meet up with our old X-Ray friends Ash, Bea and Dan for our Icelandic Adventure!! Before we’d even gotten onto a plan to the Coldest country ever.. Britt splits her only pair of pants… right down the crotch…and so we land at midnight, 4 degree weather and Britt suffering a might cold undercarriage. But If ever there was an absolutely bizarre, contrasting, insanely beautiful country, It’s Iceland. The land of never ending sheep, Icelandic horses that rival Fabio, unpronounceable volcanoes and ridiculous prices, Iceland is a phenomenally awe-inspiring country. In just hours, landscapes transform entirely from barren, moss covered lava fields, to rolling hills, to glaciers just chilling on the side of the road. The drive round the Golden Circle is a definite must. I’ll admit i knew little to nothing about Iceland before I arrived -having my amazing friends exclusive plan this trip-but my god it exceeded all my expectations.

A highlight was definitely squeezing into Michelin Man dry suits and jumping into 1degree water and snorkel between the tectonic plates of North America and Europe. Yeah, that’s a thing you can do. At one point the fissure is so narrow you can physically touch both. Bind blowing. Visibility is at about 125 meters and the water is the most insanely clear, mesmerising blue. The glacial water is filtered through porous rock for over 30 years and comes out deliciously tasty and icy. (yes, we’re encouraged to drink it… but not too much, those dry suits need to stay dry, ya’ll) You literally can’t feel your face in these temperatures, but far out it’s an experience you’d do again and again!

So with the precedent for the week set, we took off in our car around the country (trying and failing to see the Northern lIghts) to waterfalls galore, glaciers, mud baths and craters. Iceland promises and Iceland delivers. We even managed to drive into the middle of a rocky desert to see a crashed plane site in all it’s crashed plane glory. Because of course you do, In Iceland. We didn’t see any Puffins (sad face) but we did see some geysers doing their geyser thing! And the Icelandic horses are serious bosses, just sayin’. After a pretty amazing week, It was time to head back to London for less than 24 hours before we set out for the Antithesis of Iceland… TURKEY!

ps. Thanks to Ash, Bea and Dan for any of these pictures that are yours xx.